Cyanobacteria (Nodularia) bloom, Farmington Bay, Great Salt Lake

A massive bloom of the cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) Nodularia on the surface of Farmington Bay, an enclosed embayment of the Great Salt Lake, Utah (USA). The bay receives extensive nutrient loading from Salt Lake City. The salinity at the time of the photograph was 1.0% (10 ppt), but can vary spatio-temporally in the bay from